The First Indian Air Force Basic Training Course Using The Pilatus PC-7 MkII Aircraft Is Well On Schedule

Within fifteen months of contract signing, the record on-time deliveries of aircraft and logistic support material by Pilatus has enabled the Indian Air Force to complete induction of eighteen aircraft as per the agreement.

Further, a steady stream of additional aircraft is being added on a monthly basis and under the accelerated delivery schedule all 75 basic trainer aircraft are expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force by mid-2015.

The induction of the new Basic Trainer Aircraft into the Indian Air Force inventory proceeded smoothly and due to Pilatus’ unwavering commitment to match the performance of PC-7 MkII with timely deliveries, the first training course on the new aircraft is actually ahead of schedule.

By the 2nd of August, the fleet has already logged 3000 flight hours with almost 5600 landings. Despite the challenges of adverse weather conditions due to the onslaught of monsoons, the first solo flights were successfully completed within the initial three weeks of flight training. Summarizing the first two months of training, the instructors and flight cadets at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal expressed immense satisfaction with the excellent, highly conducive teaching environment afforded by the new Pilatus PC-7 MkII trainer, which dramatically boosted the quality of instruction.

Pilatus said in a news release it is confident that the PC-7 MkII aircraft will prove to be the ideal platform to train the young Indian Air Force aircrews for their challenging tasks in the future. Pilatus Training Systems (PC-7 MkII, PC-9 M and PC-21) are currently in successful operation with over 30 air forces around the world.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.pilatus-aircraft.com/